No fuel to 15-year-old vehicles, Delhi tightens rules to curb pollution

The Delhi government has taken a big decision to curb air pollution. As per the BJP-led decision vehicles older than 15 years will no longer be allowed to refuel at petrol pumps in the capital after March 31. Making the announcement on Saturday, Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said a team will be formed to identify such vehicles. "We are installing gadgets at petrol pumps which will identify vehicles older than 15 years and no fuel will be provided to them," Sirsa said after holding a meeting with officials,adding that the Union Ministry of Petroleum will be informed about this decision. Sirsa said the government's initial focus will be on heavy vehicles entering Delhi and teams will check whether the laid-down rules are being followed. "This team will oversee strict implementation starting April 1. Additionally, we will intensify scrutiny of heavy vehicles entering Delhi to ensure they meet prescribed environmental standards before being allowed entry," Sirsa said. "There are some big hotels, some big office complexes, Delhi airport, big construction sites in Delhi. We are going to make it mandatory for all of them to immediately install anti-smog guns to control pollution in their places," Sirsa said.

#WATCH | Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa says, "...After 31st March, fuel will not be given to 15-year-old vehicles... There are some big hotels, some big office complexes, Delhi airport, big construction sites in Delhi. We are going to make it mandatory for all… pic.twitter.com/xQ2sgZjfri

— ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2025

Sirsa also said that by December 2025, nearly 90 per cent of Delhi's public CNG buses will be retired and replaced with electric buses, aligning with the government's initiative to promote cleaner and more sustainable public transport. Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) have a policy under which diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years are not allowed on the roads. An order in 2021 had also said that such vehicles would be impounded and sent to the scrapyard if they were found operating on the roads after January 1, 2022.